the unknown time
by respawner
Summary: A little alternate flow of time in Mass effect of the sight of Tali. Also with some elements of some unknown time like, the two years between ME1 and ME2
1. a big loss

Chapter 1: A big loss

Tali sat in the escape pod and watched the Normandy explode. At this moment she was very close to crying. The only reason she wasn't crying was, that she wasn't alone in the pod. Liara and Ash sat next to her. All watched the flying fireball once called Normandy. While Tali looked out of the window, Ash asked through the radio the other pods:

"Here is pod number 12, has anybody seen Shepard."

"Here's Joker in pod 9. She wasn't able to escape. Shepard is dead." came the answer.

"No that can't be. Shepard always finds a way to survive. She always did. She can't be dead. She must be one of the pods." Tali screamed.

Tears were coming down her cheeks. She just lost her home and now Shepard has been lost. It all seemed so unreal, like a nightmare. Tali hoped that she would wake up in the next few moments, but she wasn't sleeping, she was fully awake.

"Shepard, that's not funny, answer you bosh'tet." She screamed.

"Tali she's dead, don't you understand that. Ash and I are also very sad but crying, doesn't bring her back. We have to fight for her, that her sacrifice wasn't just for nothing. We will revenge her but we have to be strong now." Liara tried to sound strong but she was also very close to crying.

"But she could be still alive, her suit has a life support system. I know that she's out there." Tali sobbed.

Now Ash got furious: "We don't have a beacon of her, and what do you want to do. Fly back to look for her. Even if we could turn the pod to fly back, there's too much scrap flying around. We would end like the Normandy. If you want so you can get out and walk back, but I'm not going to risk my life for a little girl, which tries to find her only friend. It's not the first commander I lost and it won't be the last. So get over it!"

Tali looked to Liara.

"Help me." She whispered to the Asari.

"Sorry, I'm on Ash's side. It would be suicide to get back to the Normandy. Don't waste your life, Shepard surely didn't want you to die. I can tell you that you were very important to her." she answered quietly.

Tali couldn't stop sobbing, she remembered all moments, where Shepard was important. She exactly remembered, how the commander saved her on the Citadel, how they killed Tons of Geth, and how she killed Saren. At that moment she knew how important this particular women was to her. And the fact, that she would never see her again made her sobbing even more. Liara noticed how heavy the situation was for Tali. The Asari took the quarian into her arms.

"Everything will be fine, you will see. But you have to be very strong now." she whispered to Tali

"Try to sleep a little bit, after that you will feel better, I promise."

The young lady wanted to say something but she didn't. Thanks to her mask, the others didn't see, how much she really cried. All she wanted, was Shepard sitting next to her and smile as she did, when she just bought a new weapon, but now she was dead and maybe she was floating in the cold space, or ripped into little pieces by the scrap of the Normandy.

"Why did she had to die, she was only 29 and her birthday was in a week. She didn't deserve it. Oh, keelah, she was only at the beginning of her life." Tali sobbed.

"Nobody deserves to die, Tali, but that's the natural order. Everybody has to die some day." Liara answered.

At this moment Tali noticed, that she became suddenly very homesick. She wanted to be a child again, laying in bed, with her mother on her side, singing a lullaby. But her mother is dead and her home is light years away. Shepard has taken the position of a substitute mother, and now she's gone.

"Can you sing me a lullaby, Liara?" she asked silently.

"Is the shock really that big, that you began to behave like a five-year-old again? Okay I'm gonna try." Liara answered softly.

As Liara began to sing, Ash rolled with the eyes and tried to ignore the big Quarian Baby. Even thought Tali thought this was, an stupid idea, to ask for a lullaby, it helped her, and after a while her eyes became heavy and she fell asleep.

* * *

At the funeral of Commander Shepard the whole crew of the former SR-1 Normandy stood around an empty coffin, because her body hasn't been found. Nobody said anything. The only thing that could be heard was the light rain and the Priest speaking.

"Does one of the present people say any last words?" he asked.

"I would." Garrus answered.

He walked up to the speakers desk. Slowly, but secure.

"Some days ago" he began "we've lost one of the greatest Commander of the Alliance in all times. Shepard never had much contact with her family, so we were always her family. She cared about us all the time, she looked after us and made always the right decision. It's hard for us to let her go, but now Shepard is gone, and we will move all along, but we must not forget what a great person she was. Without her the whole galaxy would be destroyed by the Reapers, without her many people would have died. And we will not forget the stories, we will go out and tell those stories to all people we know so her actions won't be forget, because without her I wouldn't be standing here and everybody else. So may your actions never be forget." Garrus went to the coffin and put his hand on it. "Goodbye Shepard. May you rest in peace wherever you are." He said silently and walked back to the small crowd.

"Well said." meant Dr. Chakwas , but Garrus wasn't listening.

Slowly the coffin moved into the hole beneath it, while soldiers of the Alliance fired 21 gunshots. Tali watched it sinking into the ground, she thought about the speech of Garrus and she decided to go back to the Flotilla and help her people with the Geth.

Liara, who seems to be the only one who recognised how bad thing are for Tali, walked up to her.

"How are you? Do you need any help?" she asks. Tali, who didn't see Liara coming was a little astonished.

"Ah... well... I'm doing fine, I think. I don't think, that I need any help, but thanks for asking. I can't believe she's dead now. But we have to move on." Tali just said that very casual but under her mask tears are coming again.

"And do you have any plans for the future?"

"Yes, I going to get back to the flotilla. Maybe I can help my people at fighting the Geth, because no one like me had so much contact with Geth like me."

"You sound very confident, when do you leave?"

"Immediately, because every female woman here on earth reminds me of Shepard. I'm just going to say goodbye and then leave. But there's one thing I don't understand."

"What is it?" Liara asked.

"Why do humans bury their body into the dirt?"

"I also don't know that, seems like an human tradition." Liara shrugged "Well then good luck on the flotilla" After that Liara walked away.

Tali walked to the coffin and thought why humans put their bodies in such boxes, just to bury them afterwards. That's a complete waste of expensive resources. Then she thought about Shepard and as she came close to tears she turned away and moved to the next shuttle bay to fly home to the flotilla. On the bay there were many people, all ignored her and even some mothers took their child on the arm as they saw Tali moving past them, as Tali would eat little children. Not even a single terminal showed, that Commander Shepard died. _They don't want to start a panic. Wouldn't be good if the most valuable Commander of the Alliance would die__._ She walked past some pigeons to the Terminal. She had never seen some pigeons and she stopped to look at them. Some old guy came up to her.

"Please leave our birds alone. You sure have some native animals on your home to test medicine on." he said.

"Sir, I'm not going to test drugs on those animals. I'm not an evil being, I never saw such thing, and I wanted to admire them. What do you think I am?", she answered politely.

"Just making sure." he said and walked away.

"Such a bosh'tet, thinks I'm going to kill their wildlife." she said in a such a low voice, that nobody could hear and moved on to the ticket terminal.

"One ticket to the Quarian flotilla, please." she said to the guy behind the register.

"One moment please. That's 250 Credits."

"Wow that' pretty expensive!" Tali said and transferred the credits from the omni tool to the register.

"Have a nice flight!" wished the guy behind the counter and gave Tali the ticket. "Your shuttle leaves in 4 hours at docking 6." Tali turned around and walked to docking 6, thinking how to kill some time.

* * *

So apperantly you've read the whole first chapter, hope you liked it if you have any recommendations i try to follow them in the story. And of course please leave a review.


	2. back to the roots

Chapter 2: Back to the roots

Tali sat in the shuttle inspecting what she bought. It was a small white box with some kind of phone printed on it. On the side there was a small black, bitten apple, with some letters saying Iphone 11. She thought, that it was with 3.999 credits at it's cost a little overpriced, but it's some kind of old technology, which the flotilla will love.

"Oh my god, who let this thief on the shuttle." groaned the guy next to her.

Tali turned around and looked at him angrily. "Why should I be a thief? Can you explain that?" she asked furiously. Suddenly everybody in the crowded shuttle starred at her. She felt a little bit inconvenient, being looked at isn't fun for her.

"Because you're a Quarian, and Quarian steal. So you have the proof in your hands. I have never seen a Quarian, who could afford an Iphone. So explain that." said the racist.

"I bought it in a store, if you want to see the bill." she put out the bill of her pocket. "Here you go."

The guy looked at the bill. "Where have gotten the money for that? Probably stolen like everybody of your race did. Officer can you come over here please?."

The security Officer came over and asked: "What's the problem?"

"We have a thief sitting right here."

"All right, ma'am can you please come with me."

"Sir I didn't steal anything, I swear."

"We will see. Your passport please." Tali handed him her passport over. At this day Nothing has gone right. First the funeral of Shepard, then the long waiting time and now she's suspected for theft.

"Okay Miss Zorah, you're from the Rayya, right?"

"Right." she answered immediately.

"What's your Job?"

"I'm working … I worked at the Normandy as a technician.", suddenly she felt a little bit sad.

"Lies, she lies all the time, she's a Quarian, don't you see that!" the racist shouted.

"Sir, please calm down!" he said to the man, who now stand "Please show me all your personal objects." he said calmly to Tali.

"I only have my Omni tool and this phone I bought at the shop section."

"Can you show me the bill please."

"Sure" Tali hands him the bill and looked to the standing man, who wants to see her in jail.

"Okay everything seems to be fine. You can move on." He turned to the raging man. "And you! You are now silent or I'll kick you of this ship. This is a nice Quarian Lady, who's innocent. Not every Quarian is a thief, so get over it."

"Yes, Sir." he said meekly, and sat down.

"If he is again loosing control again, just call me for help. I hate those racist people."

"Thank you officer." Tali said, turned around, and sat down. She was happy that somebody tried to help her, here on earth, where she was pretty alone.

"Welcome aboard on the Atlantis. We're flying from earth to omega, and from Omega to the migrant fleet. The flight will take around 4 hours till the first mass portal and another 3 to Omega. It will take again 3 hours to reach the second mass portal, which will take us to the migrant fleet. So fasten you're seatbelt and enjoy the trip. All-Star-Journeys wishes a save and a pleasant travel." right after the announcement was over the shuttle began to move, and she felt that they were leaving the hangar. She tried to relax a little bit, tried to think of all the familiar faces on the Rayya, but her thoughts always went back to the Normandy. On this shuttle, which was stuffed with humans, there was no silence and no free room. On the Normandy, it was silent, and she could go to the main core of the ship, but here she had to sit in her seat for now like 10 hours. Her head was full with memories of the old times, the adventures, the danger of the missions and Shepard. But suddenly she realised, that she was at the end of the Pilgrimage. She was only a step away before, becoming a real women of her race. Everything what she felt was pure excitement, and the urge to tell it Shepard. Only one second later Tali realised, what she just thought. With a single tear running over her cheek, she looked out of the window. The shuttle just left the orbit of earth and in a few seconds they would pass the moon. Tali has never seen such beauty as the earth in front of the sun. _I never knew, that the earth is that beautiful,_ _Shepard would have wanted to see this sunrise. _She thought, and kept starring out of the window. Only some minutes later, Tali lost the earth out of sight. She leaned back, linked her omni tool with the suit internal speakers and looked through the music database of the extranet. With one click, she listened to her favourite band called "Fimnian and the Varren keepers", a Turian pop band, which is quite popular at the moment.

After nearly seven hours of flying, the shuttle landed at a star base called Omega. _Quite suitable the name, because it's the last place I want to be, _she thought, after some Vorchas walked past her, but she had to stay for an hour on this place, because the shuttle only leaves in an hour, so she had to kill time again. After half an hour she saw some kind of an blue Turian armour, like the one of Garrus in the crowd. It seemed familiar to her, but she knew that he wasn't in the shuttle. So she just shrugged and walked back to the shuttle bay.

After Tali sat down in the shuttle, she was almost alone. Just one sleeping Volus who seems to have have drunk way too much. _I'm glad I can't smell, I'm pretty sure the whole shuttle is filled with his scent._

Tali sat in her seat with the fever of excitement, to see her home again. As they passed through the mass portal, the Volus fell on the ground and kept sleeping. "Bosh'tet" she said silently to the sleeping one, but she completely forgot about him as the shuttle came closer to the fleet.

"We're now arriving at the migrant fleet. Within the next five minutes, we are going to land on the Idenna. Please don't forget, that you have to stay a few moments, in the decontamination chamber. We hope you enjoyed the flight, your All-Star-journeys company."

Now Tali couldn't hide her excitement any longer. She stood up and walked to the door of the spacecraft.

The last five minutes, were nail-biting for Tali, but after a felt eternity, the doors of the decontamination chamber opened and she stood in front of like 20 Quarians. She Took a step out of the small room and said to her self: "Now I'm home." she went into the main hall of the Idenna, to see all the quarian technology. As she was starring at the ceiling a Quarian, came to her from behind.

"Tali? Tali'zorah?" he asked a little bit enthusiastic.

Tali turned around and looked into the visor of a young male quarian. "What do you want from … Wait a second! Mael'Jaallo is that you?"

"Yes it's me. Oh keelah, we haven't seen each other since I started my pilgrimage. The last time I saw you, was when we … wait a second, that was as we …" Tali interrupted him.

"As we played in the lab of my father and you shot accidentally this brain in the jar with the Geth blaster."

"Exactly … So what are you doing on the migrant fleet."

"I want to end my pilgrimage."

"If that's so congratulation. Do you have any place to sleep?"

"At the moment not but I thought of ..." she got interrupted by Mael.

"You can sleep at my place. I have an empty bed, where you can sleep, if you want so."

Tali blushed a little bit, only some minutes after she arrived on the fleet, and she had to claim some help of an old teenage friend.

"Okay, why not?"

"Great, I'll show you where my home is but there is one condition."

Tali gulped, she wasn't prepared for a condition.

"Maybe, what is it?" she asked a little shy.

"You have to tell me everything of your journeys and adventures."

Tali was eased, she thought other things than telling a story.

"Then I also want something from you! You also have to tell me of your pilgrimage."

"All right. Then follow me" Mael said and walked through some narrow corridors. After passing like 200 doors Mael opened one and entered. Tali looked into the small room. There wasn't much space, but it had two beds on the wall a small table with three metal chairs. One of them looked like it melted a little and was solidified right after some seconds of melting. Even though nearly everything was made out of metal it seemed nice and like a home.

"Come on, step in, the room won't bite you."

Tali imagined her self standing like an idiot standing at the door not moving.

"Do you want something to drink?" Mael asked politely.

"Of course, do you think that, after 11 hours of flying, I want to stay sober? At this moment I could drink the worst alcohol you have."

"That's my Tali. But today you won't get the worst booze I have. Maybe another day. But now I'm going to open the best Wine I have. We have to celebrate that your at home now after all this years."

Tali smiled as Mael poured some blue liquid in two wine glasses. He handed her one and offered her a seat. She gratefully sat down and Mael rested him self on the other side of the table.

"So where did you first go after you left." he asked with great curiosity.

"Well, ..." she began, and told everything of her adventures, of Shepard the Normandy, Saren, and so on. While talking she drank nearly most of the Bottle, and Meal opened another one.

"Yeah and I swear there was this technician on board of the Normandy, and one day we found him half naked running, through the ship screaming: 'where are my clothes? Who stole them?'" and both Tali and Mael laughed.

"And that really happened?" Meal asked, obviously he was drunk.

"Yes, and we all just laughed"

Tali laughed again. Obviously she was more drunk than Mael.

"Tali, have I ever told you how beautiful your laughter is?"

She blushed. "No, no one ever did, you're the first."

"But now I told you, and I also have to tell you, that you're the most incredible woman I've ever seen." his hand reached her visor. She blushed even more.

"That's the alcohol speaking." she said.

"No for real"

Tali stood up, staggered to Mael and fell down on his lap. She also reached with her hand for his visor.

"Well, I can show you more"

And after like ten minutes they ended up linking their suits.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed reading it. More chapters are coming soon. Please leave a review, give me some recommendations, or improvements if you want.


	3. Old friends

Chapter 3: Old friends

The first feeling of the new day for Tali, was the enormous hangover from the day before. She turned her head around to see, that she was alone in the room. _At least it's silent in here._ Right after this thought the door was flung opened and Mael stepped in with a small board in his hands.

"Look who's awake" he said and Tali could easily imagine, how Mael was smiling under the Visor. "I wanted to surprise you, but now there's no longer an astonishment." On the board there was a plate with some Quarian food, and a red drink. "I'm so sorry, that I was not here for like an hour, but I've got something for you."

"You don't have to apologise." Tali knew the food, the drink left her wondering about it's ingredients. "What is that?"

"You don't know it, because it's my own creation. If you drink that, the hangover will pass in no time."

"If that's so, give it to me. I need it really hard right now. My head is killing me." As Mael gave her the glass, Tali rubbed her visor, in order to get some headache away, but it doesn't help as much as rubbing the forehead. "Her you go, don't drink it too fast or you will die."

"What?" Tali starred at him with fear in her eyes.

"I was just kidding Tali, I would never give you something, which would kill you." As she heard that, she was eased. She took the glass and put the straw at the end of the visor in the drink. After one sip of the juice, a little of the pain in the head disappeared. After the glass was empty, Mael handed her some of the food on a spoon.

"Try it, you will like it." Tali looked at him with some fear in her eyes.

"Is the environment sterile?"

"If it wouldn't, you would be dead by now, because last night." The blue Visor opened with a light sibilance, and some light fell into the dark of the helmet.

"You're really beautiful, Tali. I wish, I could see this face forever." Tali blushed as he said that, and blushed even more as she realised, that Mael could see her face.

"Thank, you." she sputtered. She reached with the hand for the spoon, grabbed it, and looked at the red food on it.

"What is that?"

"Don't you know how scrambled eggs look like? I thought, that this was your favourite food, as we were children."

"But scrambled eggs are normally yellow, not red."

"Oh, you mean that food of the Humans. That's how the Quarians do it, baby." Mael tried to look cool, but tripped over his own feet and fell down. Tali had to giggle, as she watched the poor Quarian lying on the floor, over and over spilled with the rest of the anti-hangover-drink.

"Keelah! Mael, don't be this stupid!"

"Well, as long as you enjoy." he stood up and put some of the breakfast into his helmet's tube. Tali also put the spoon into her mouth and tasted the scrambled eggs. As the food touched her tongue, she literally began to cry.

"What's the matter. Is it so bad?" Mael worried, and wiped with his finger a tear of her cheek.

"No it's really good. I have totally forgotten how good quarian food tastes like." Tali remembered how her mother fed her, when she was a child. When she sat on her lap spilled with food, because she was a messy eater. But her mother always wiped her clean. At this moment Tali has totally forgotten about Shepard.

"Want some more?"

"Does the pope wear white?" Tali answered.

"What is a pope?" Mael looked confused at Tali.

"It's some old human who lives in a big house on the earth and tells stories from the balcony. I actually don't know what, or why he's doing that, but he seems to be very important. By the way, he wears white." Mael began to laugh.

"For the humans, an old guys who tells stories from a balcony is important. Oh keelah, it feels good not to be a human." He gave Tali the plate with the rest of the food, and after she finished the rest of the breakfast, Mael called out a drone to clean up the small room.

"Wow I haven't seen one of them since years, where did you find this one." said Tali and pointed at the drone.

"Well I rescued it from the waste of the whole ship, wasn't easy to repair it. I just remembered, that you have to report your end of the pilgrimage at the council. If I were you, I would do it today. To make it official, I mean." he suggested.

"Good idea, do you know where I can take a shower?"

Now Mael blushed, imagining Tali naked under the shower. "Well... uhm... the second door to the left is the ... uhm ... public shower." he sputtered.

Tali put her visor back on. "Thanks." she said and left the room.

* * *

"Well we all think, that everything, you have sent us over the time is important enough, to end the pilgrimage. Well to be exact, nearly every single part is more worth, than what others brought us. Tali'zorah nar Rayya your pilgrimage ends at this moment. Congratulation, may the luck be on your side." The admiral Lehee'Hifin stood up. "Also I have a little surprise for you." As the other admirals packed their things, the door to the office of Lehee opened and a quarian stepped out.

"Dad?!"

"Tali!" She ran towards him and hugged him.

"I missed you so much, you can't imagine."

"I also missed you, my little princess. Every time some technology arrived at the station, I was really eased that you are still alive. And I have to introduce you later to your uhm... well... new mother."

"You have found new love?"

"Yeah. If I'm allowed to make dinner tomorrow for my daughter, who wasn't at home for like 5 years, I would make some of the best food on the whole flotilla for her. It just needs the answer of her."

Tali smiled. "You are of course allowed to make dinner for her, and she also wants to come." Tali released her father from the hug. "Well I have to go back to Mael, he said he wanted to talk to me after the ceremony. See you at your place."

"Bye."

Tali walked to the shuttle bay to take a trip back to the Idenna. The shuttle she took was more a small metal box with a engine, than a shuttle. But while flying it was surprisingly quiet in the cabin. After the landing Tali headed to the room of Mael. The door was unlocked, and even a little open. She thought of the worst case, that some thief came into this room and even killed Mael. She put her hand slowly on the door and opened it slowly.

"Welcome home, Tali!" was shouted as the door was completely opened.

"What?" Tali was a little bit confused. In the small room was a welcome-home-banner and nearly six quarians stood in the middle with glasses of wine or somthing else in their hands. Mael came and handed her some champagne. "I thought we could party a little bit, because of your return."

"Well... why not? But who are those people?"

"Don't you remember? These are all the people we were in class with. At least the ones, who aren't on pilgrimage, dead, or got stuck on gum on the floor while an airlock funktion."

"Oh now I can recall. Then turn on the music." It didn't took Tali too long to get drunk and dancing to on the floor. She enjoyed it to be with her old friends reunited, and drinking. After some hours Mael passed out and Tali thought it would be funny to see her friends visor painted with black colour, but half an hour later Tali also passed out.

* * *

Thanks to all of the like 30 true readers so far. Even it's not much i like to see, that at least a few people like my story.


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